Susan's Heir
by The Arista
Summary: Petra didn't know whether or not to believe her great-grandmother when she claimed to be Queen Susan. Now thrust into Narnia, Petra finds that she is Susan's Heir, and that she must bring about the doom of a dragon that is terrorizing Narnia.
1. Petra

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does._

**Chapter 1  
>Petra <strong>

"Do I have to spend the day with Great-grandma?" Petra knew she was whining. She also knew that, at sixteen, she was too old for whining. But, quite honestly, she didn't care right now.

"Yes, dear," said her mother. "You know how much you kids' visits mean to her. It's your turn today."

Petra frowned, and pushed her light brown bangs, which she was currently trying to grow out, out of her eyes. "I don't want to spend the day at a nursing home. They're all old people."

"Petra," said her mother, a bit of warning in her voice.

"Fine," said Petra. "Can I take a book with me, though? To read when she falls asleep?"

Her mom sighed. "Okay, but be quick."

Petra went to her room, and plopped down on her bed, staring at her bookshelf as she considered which would be the best to take with her. Finally, she just shut her eyes, and randomly grabbed a book off the shelf.

"'The Silver Chair' Good enough," she said, as she examined the book she pulled. She then ran outside to where her mom was waiting in the car. She got in the passenger seat, slamming the car door slightly harder than necessary. "Let's go," she said. "Get this over with." She pretended not to hear her mom's sigh.

She stared out her window at the scenery that rolled by, refusing to talk to her mom as she told stories about how amazing great-grandmother was thirty years ago. Honestly, Petra could care less about how great-grandma was back when she was only fifty. She wasn't fifty now. She was eighty. She no longer had a nice house full of rooms to explore and even more woods, she lived in a nursing home.

Finally, they arrived at the nursing home. Petra got out of the car, gave her mom a stiff, "Bye Mom," and once more slammed the car door a tad bit harder than necessary. Since there was no point in dilly-dallying on her way to great-grandma's room, she went straight to it.

Great-grandma was asleep, so Petra plopped herself down in a chair, pulled her book out of her purse and started to read. Maybe, just maybe, if she was lucky, Great-grandma wouldn't wake up until it was nearly time to go. Petra didn't want to hear any stories of great-grandma's childhood in wartime England. Soon, Petra was lost in the story.

"Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen of Narnia …" Great-grandma's voice suddenly jolted Petra out of the book. She shut it with a snap and looked up.

"Yes, Grandma?" she asked.

"Do you believe in Narnia?" asked Great-grandma.

Petra hesitated for a second, Great-grandma was the master of saying strange things that you never knew quite how to answer. "I … guess so."

Great-grandma smiled. "Good," she said. "You believe. Do you see that bookshelf?"

Petra's eyes followed the point of the gnarled finger to the old shelf. There were only seven books on it. Seven very old books. "Yes, Grandma," she said. "I see it."

"Good," said Great-grandma. "They're yours. Keep them, take care of them. They're special."

Petra hesitated for a second, then got up and walked over to the bookshelf and examined the books on it. "They're the Chronicles of Narnia," she said.

"Yes," said Great-grandma. "I'm old, Petra, very old. I want you to take care of them. You were named for Peter … and Edmund, too, I believe. Your middle name's Edna, is it not?"

"Yes," said Petra, after another second's hesitation.

"I want you to have them," continued great-grandma. "They're all I have left of Narnia."

"What do you mean?" asked Petra, turning to look at her great-grandmother. Great-grandma was old, with paper-like skin, white hair, and many wrinkles. But there was a sort of beauty to her, a sort of elegance, a regal elegance, despite the fact that she was sitting in a bed of a nursing home.

"Petra, dear," said Great-grandma with a sigh. "Haven't you realized by now?"

"Realized what?" asked Petra.

"I am Queen Susan the Gentle."


	2. Susan's Story

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does._

**Chapter 2**

**Susan's Story**

Petra blinked. Okay … "That's … interesting, Grandma," she said. This wasn't the first wild story Great-grandma had ever come up with.

"Come here, child," she said. "I'd like to tell you what happened after the Last Battle."

Petra shrugged, and walked over and sat down in a chair next to Great-grandma's bed. Great-grandma took one of her hands in her gnarled hands.

"What does the 'Last Battle' say about me, Petra?" said Great-grandma.

Petra blinked and had to think for a second. Not because she couldn't remember, but because she wasn't quite sure about equating her great-grandmother with Queen Susan. "You were no longer a friend of Narnia," she finally said, slowly. Great-grandma closed her eyes, as if the words were painful. "That you cared more about makeup and parties than 'those silly games' you used to play." She knew she was paraphrasing, but it had been a while since she had last read "The Last Battle."

"No," said Great-grandma, "I was no longer a friend of Narnia."

"You missed Caspian?" asked Petra, thinking of the new movies, and wanting to be a bit humorous, since she already was wanting to laugh.

"No …" said Great-grandma, "You're talking about those new movies, aren't you? They're good, I must admit, as movies go … but they don't compare to what really happened. And no actor, no matter how good, can compare to the real person."

"I … see."

"When Aslan told Peter and I that we would not return to Narnia, I accepted it. While I was in Narnia, it didn't seem so bad that I would never return, and for many years, I was able to accept the fact that I wouldn't return … but I never liked it. The memories became painful, and I began trying to build up a false imitation of the life I had once lead as the Queen of Narnia, for I so missed the royal balls and galas. I was the beauty of the family, so it wasn't hard for me to get attention and acquire beaus. But the memories always outshone what I found here, so I began burying them. I began pretending that Narnia never existed. Soon I began to believe it."

Great-grandma paused and was silent for a while.

"I might have been able to go on that train," she said at last, resuming the story, "but I had a party that day, and I was eager to not be associated with the other seven. As it was, my parting with my brothers and sister was not the sort you would want to make your last parting with your brothers and sisters. Perhaps … had I known that I would never see them again … I would have made the parting different, but I don't know. I was bitter. The train wreck took my whole family. I was devastated. I moved from England permanently to America. I've only been back a few times, on visits. One night, Aslan appeared … whether in a dream or not, I don't know. He gave me those seven books, and told me that they would be my comfort, and that, if I would believe again, I would someday return to Narnia, the True Narnia."

"And you believed."

"I did, Petra," said Great-grandmother. "I found a church, where I discovered Aslan's name here. Soon I met your great-grandfather, and we married. I was happy again, but I still missed Narnia and my friends. On a visit to England, I met Jack, C.S. Lewis, you know, and I showed him the books, and he asked if he could publish them. I told him he could, as long as no one knew that they were true, and that he made no reference to the fact that he had gotten them from me. I'm not the only person whose story he published, he published one for Elwin Ransom, too, a good man, he was."

"And, now what?" asked Petra asked, somehow wanting to know the moral of the story.

"Now," said Great-grandma, "I want you to take those books – they are the very ones that Aslan gave me that night. I feel that I haven't many days left, and that I will soon be reunited with my brothers and sisters. Please, Petra, get them off the shelf and bring them here, so that I might look at them one last time."

Petra stood up, and hesitated for a brief second, then went and got the books off the shelf for Great-grandma. Great-grandma stared at them for a long while, saying nothing, opening them, and staring at the pictures and words. Finally she shut them all, and said, "Petra, get the satchel off that cabinet, there."

Petra complied, then was instructed to put the books into the satchel. "Keep them safe," Great-grandma instructed one last time. Then it was time for Petra to leave. Petra didn't even notice that she had accidentally left her own copy of "The Silver Chair" behind as she went down to get in the car to go home.

**Author's note: I'm still figuring out formatting, so that's why there might be some inconsistencies there. Please review if you like!**


	3. The Woods

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does._

**Chapter 3**

**The Woods**

"Was it as bad as you thought it would be?" Mom asked as Petra got into the car.

Petra shrugged, lost in thought. "I dunno."

"What's in the bag?"

"Some books Great-grandma gave me," Petra answered. "Said she wants me to take care of them for her since she doesn't think she has much longer to live."

"I see," said Mom. "What books are they?"

"The Chronicles of Narnia," Petra replied.

"Ah," said Mom. "Those are special books to her. She's had them on special display as long as I can remember. Take good care of them, they're pretty old."

"I know," said Petra.

Neither said anything the rest of the way home. Petra wasn't sure whether to believe Great-grandma's story or not. It sounded so far-fetched, and yet … the books. There was something about those books that made Petra stop and consider the fact that this story might be valid.

When Petra got home, she went to her room for a while, but then got bored. "I'm going for a hike in the woods," she announced, as she headed out the door. For some reason, she had not yet taken off the satchel, and it was still on her shoulder.

She wandered through the woods, lost in thought, though she didn't get lost physically. She knew these woods like the back of her hand, and there wasn't all that much of them to memorize, only a few acres.

She found her favorite tree, which was shaped like a 4, and sat down on the horizontal part. It was strange, thinking about Great-grandma as Queen Susan the Gentle, but somehow, part of her found herself believing it. The other part was still scoffing.

She realized that she still had the satchel. She opened it, somewhat in a daze, and pulled out one of the books, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." She opened it, and gasped.

The pictures were not the pictures that were in any other "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" she had ever read before. These pictures were almost photographs, but not photographs from any of the movies. She stared at the pictures, blinking.

She pulled out "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and turned to the back where she found a picture of the four newly-crowned monarchs. She stared at Queen Susan. True, she did have the same color eyes as Great-grandma – the same brown as Petra's eyes, in fact – but other than that, she saw nothing in common with great-grandma. She had to admit, though, that neither actors, either the one who had played Susan in the BBC version, or the one in the new movies, had done Susan justice. They had done good, but neither had the same ease, the same beauty.

"Maybe Grandma was telling the truth," Petra admitted, for the first time aloud. "These pictures are fantastic." Then she sighed. "They're too fantastic," she added. "Just like Grandma's story. It can't be true." Then she sighed again. "But if it is true, I wish I could go to Narnia …"

A wind blew through the trees, blowing Petra's hair all out of place. For a second, Petra thought she saw a glint of gold in the trees. _Aslan? _Her logical, skeptical half corrected her, though. It was just the sunlight filtering down through the leaves.

The wind blew harder, and Petra suddenly fell off of her perch on the 4 tree. She shoved the book back into the satchel and refastened in down so that the books wouldn't fly away and be ruined. She sat up.

The world started spinning.

She lay back down, and everything went black.

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 3. Please leave a review if you liked it!**


	4. Sandai and Annis

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai and Annis._

**Chapter 4**

**Sandai and Annis**

When the feeling of dizziness finally subsided, Petra deemed it safe to open her eyes. The scene that met them, however, was not the woods, where they had been shut. She was now staring up, not at the sky, but at the rafters of a roof.

"Where am I?" she said, asking the logical question to ask when one has just opened their eyes and they are met with a scene that is not the one they closed their eyes to.

"You're in my hut, humble as it is," said a gentle voice. "Good, you're awake." Into Petra's line of vision came a woman's face with worried blue eyes.

"Who are you?" asked Petra, sitting up. Her dizziness was gone as if it never was.

A smile touched the woman's mouth. "I'm Sandai," she said. "May I ask who you are?"

"My name's Petra," said Petra. Sure, sure, she knew she wasn't supposed to give her name to strangers, but she was already in Sandai's house. Besides, there was something about Sandai that made you trust her.

Sandai wasn't a remarkably beauty, but she definitely fit the description of pretty. She had a nice face, and, as Petra had already noted, blue eyes. Her dark blond hair was contained in a braid that fell past her waist. However, there was to her an air of one who knew care and sorrow, and a sad light, as well as worried, to her eyes, and she was no longer young, and care had made her eyes look older than they actually were.

"Petra," said Sandai. "That's a pretty name."

"Thank-you," said Petra. She noticed that she was no longer wearing her satchel. "Where's my –" she began, but Sandai was already ahead of her, and had already materialized the satchel from off of a cabinet.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Sandai asked.

"Yeah …" said Petra. "Thanks."

Sandai handed Petra the satchel. "Don't worry," she assured as she did so, "I did not let my curiosity get the better of me. I didn't even peek inside it. I merely put it where it would be safe and you wouldn't strangle yourself."

"Thanks, I guess," said Petra.

Just then there was a cry of, "Momma! Momma!" and in ran a black-haired girl of about six or seven. "Momma!"

Sandai turned from Petra at the first "Momma!" "Yes, Annis?" she asked. "What is it?"

"Momma," said the girl for the fourth time, "Huler fell and can't stand up, come see, come see! You've got to come help!"

"Oh, dear," said Sandai. The girl grabbed her hand and drug her out the door. Curious, Petra followed quietly.

Petra blinked a few times once she was out in the sunlight. The air smelled different, somehow it smelled cleaner. It smelled also of joy, and peace, and content. She only paused for a second though, because, had she not, she would have lost sight of Sandai and the little girl.

Soon the little girl had brought them to a small deer that was on the ground. Petra expected the young deer to bolt – or at least try to bolt – but he didn't. Instead he stared up at Sandai with pleading eyes. "Mother Sandai," he said, "I hurt my leg. I can't get up."

Petra gasped, and her heart started pounding in her ears. The deer had talked – it had actually talked! In a daze, she watched as Sandai diagnosed Huler as having a broken leg, and then bandaged it off. She sent Annis, which was the name of the girl, to fetch Huler's mother.

It seemed like an eternity later, but finally, Sandai noticed Petra standing there. "Are you all right, Petra, you look pale."

"He talks!" was all Petra was able to squeak out. "The deer talks."

"Of course," said Sandai. "This is Narnia. Animals talk here."

Petra's heart stopped. "This is Narnia?" she squeaked.

"Yes, dear," said Sandai.

"But …" said Petra. "Maybe Great-grandma's story was true …"

"What do you mean?" asked Annis.

Petra sucked in a deep breath, then said it. "I am the great-granddaughter of Queen Susan the Gentle."

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 4, and Petra is finally in Narnia. Please leave a review if you liked it!**


	5. Cair Paravel

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai and Annis._

**Chapter 5**

**Cair Paravel **

"You are the great-granddaughter of Queen Susan the Gentle?" questioned Annis, her eyes wide with awe.

"Well," said Petra, "at least, my great-grandmother claims that she is Queen Susan." Now that the initial moment of realization was over and her declaration was made, she felt very awkward. "I definitely come from Queen Susan's world."

"If you come from Queen Susan's world," said Sandai. "It is necessary that we take you to Cair Paravel, regardless of whether or not your great-grandmother was Queen Susan or not. Visitors from Queen Susan's world are rare, and always important. You are surely no exception."

"Cair Paravel?" asked Petra, in a small voice.

"Yes," said Sandai, "we must let King Rilian know of you. Annis and I will take you. I'll ask some friends of mine to watch my house while we are gone."

"What about your husband?" The question slipped out before Petra could stop it.

A sad light came to Sandai's eyes. "My husband has gone before to Aslan's Country," she said, her voice thickening slightly. "He was one of the ones who went in search of King Rilian while he was missing and did not return."

"Oh …" said Petra. "I'm sorry."

Sandai flashed a brave smile. "I've gotten used to it, as well as one can get used to the loss of their husband. His death was honorable, and I can thank Aslan for that."

Petra wordlessly followed Sandai and Annis back to the hut, where Sandai proceeded to pack for the journey. Petra helped where she could, and she couldn't help but compare this to the scene where Mrs. Beaver was packing. Except they weren't in a rush because the White Which might be there at any moment and turn them into stone.

Annis helped some, but she also bounced around singing, "We're going to the castle, we're going to the castle! To meet the King and take Queen Susan's great-granddaughter to him." Petra couldn't help but smile at the child.

Soon they were packed. Sandai went to a cupboard and and pulled out a bow and a quiver of arrows. "As a widow, I have had to learn to defend myself and Annis," she explained to Petra's inquisitive look. "I'm not bad, not really."

"Oh," said Petra. She sighed. "I'd like to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow," she said.

"Didn't your great-grandmother teach you?" inquired Annis. "She was the best archer in Narnia!"

"No," said Petra. "Susan is really old where I am. She never taught me how to shoot a bow and arrow." And, truth be told, Petra didn't think her great-grandmother had shot a bow and arrow since she had ceased to be a friend of Narnia. Mother certainly never spoke of her doing archery in her stories of her.

Then they set out on their journey. For a few hours, Annis's song was incessant, but then the girl appeared to tire of singing, and turned her attention to examining flowers and talking to the trees.

Part of Petra was uneasy about this, but she reminded herself that when you're in Narnia, no time at all passes in … well, she didn't live in England, she had to say America instead. After two days' travel, they finally arrived at Cair Paravel.

Petra gasped as it came into view. It was beautiful, even more beautiful than the pictures she had seen of it while reading "The Silver Chair" the night before.

"That's it," said Sandai. "That's Cair Paravel, Annis." In a lowered voice, she added, "And I never thought I'd come back."

Petra gave Sandai a glance at that comment, but Sandai seemed to not notice that Petra had heard. "Well," she said. "Let's keep going, so we can get there before they close the gates." And she began hurrying along, and Petra and Annis followed, Annis resuming her song.

"We're going to the Castle! We're going to Cair Paravel! We're gonna meet the King! We're gonna meet King Rilian! We're going to the Castle! And Petra is Queen Susan's great-granddaughter!"

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 5, and Petra at Cair Paravel. Please leave a review if you liked it! Oh, and I don't have a villainess yet … and I need one. Any ideas? I don't want to bring back either the White Witch or the Lady of the Green Kirtle, but I'm open to ideas.**


	6. Rilian

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai and Annis._

**Chapter 6**

**Rilian**

Cair Paravel only grew more amazing and beautiful with each step towards it. It wasn't at all like the Cair Paravel in the movies. It was more beautiful, more real. The Cair Paravel of the movies were just attempts of imitations of people who had only read the books, and had not seen them themselves.

Almost without realizing it, Petra soon arrived at the gates.

"What is your business?" the guard asked.

"We found a girl who comes from the world of the Kings and Queens of Old," Sandai replied, indicating Petra. "And she says that she thinks that she is the Great-granddaughter of Queen Susan herself."

The guard looked Petra up and down for a few seconds, then said, "What's her name?"

"It's Petra," said Petra, after only a second's hesitation.

"Very well," said the Guard. "Please follow me. The King is out right now, but I'm sure it will please him to learn of your arrival as soon as he gets back."

Sandai turned to go, but Annis protested. "But we haven't met the King yet! I wanted to meet the King!"

"Annis," said Sandai, somewhat sternly, "We only came so to show Petra the way here. King Rilian is busy, I'm sure. I rather think that he doesn't have time for some commoners like us."

"But Momma!" Annis looked up at her mother with the saddest expression.

"No, Annis," said Sandai.

Just then, there was the sound of hooves and a black charger galloped up. On the charger rode a man in his early thirties. He reigned the horse in short when he saw the three visitors at the gate.

"King Rilian," said the guard, bowing respectfully.

"Good day, Horian," said the man, who was apparently King Rilian. "May I ask who the visitors are?"

"One is a girl named Petra," said the guard, who was apparently named Horian. "She claims to be from the same world as the Kings and Queens of Old, and that she is the great-granddaughter of Queen Susan herself."

"And my daughter and I found her and brought her here, and we were just leaving," cut in Sandai. She endeavored to get Annis to follow, by tugging on her arm, but Annis was frozen, staring at King Rilian in awe.

"A great-granddaughter of Queen Susan?" said Rilian.

"Well," said Petra. "My great-grandmother, at least, claimed to be Queen Susan. All I know for sure is that I come from her world."

"I see," said Rilian. He turned his attention to Sandai and Annis. "Oh, you don't have to leave. Your daughter looks fatigued. Stay the night, at least, before you make your journey back to your home. What are your names?"

"I'm Annis!" spoke up Annis, finally finding her tongue again. "And this is my momma!"

"My name is Sandai," said Sandai, quietly. "Very well, since you insist, we will stay the night. But only the night. We must return back to our home as soon as possible."

"Very well," said Rilian. "If you insist." He dismounted, and walked through the gates, leading his horse. "Follow me, Petra," he instructed.

Petra followed.

Rilian gave his horse to one of the young pages for him to put away in the horses stall, then he lead Petra into the castle. Annis and Sandai followed Petra.

The inside of Cair Paravel was even more impressive than the outside, something that Petra had heretofore thought impossible. Her eyes traveled upwards, and it was apparent that Annis's eyes were doing so as well, since she suddenly fell over backwards.

**Author's Note: And now she's in Cair Paravel! Please leave a review and tell me how you like it! And I finally came up with the villainess last night, so I'm good there!**


	7. Susan's Bow

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai and Annis._

**Chapter 7**

**Susan's Bow**

Sandai was behind Annis, and caught her. "Stand up Annis, and act dignified," Sandai said, reprovingly.

"Cair Paravel is a lot bigger than our home," said Annis, almost in a whisper.

"Yes, It is," said Sandai. "Most palaces are bigger than hovels."

Rilian told a servant to prepare rooms for Petra, Sandai, and Annis. Soon Petra was alone in the room that was prepared for her. It was a good sized room, about the same size as the room she shared with her younger sister back home. For several minutes, she just stood in the middle of the room, not wanting to disturb anything, not wanting to ruin the beauty by her touch.

It was hard to believe, even after two day's travel, that she was really and truly in Narnia. It was even harder to believe that she was in Cair Paravel. Did she believe that her great-grandmother was truly Queen Susan? She almost did.

Finally she took a timid step towards the bed. It was so beautiful, the whole room was so beautiful. She saw a blue dress laid out on the bed, and realized that it was meant for her. She picked it up to admire it. A smile spread across her face and she put it on. It was far more comfortable and beautiful than anything she had ever worn back in America. And now she would no longer be stared at because she was wearing jeans.

Childishly, she twirled around. The dress had a nice twirly skirt.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was a servant who wanted to know if she was decent and wanted to tell her that King Rilian wished to talk with her. On the acknowledgment that she was decent, the servant bade Petra follow him. She paused only long enough to grab the satchel of books, as she oddly did not like being separated from it, then she followed the servant.

The servant lead her down lots of corridors and passages and past many guards and finally brought her to where Rilian was standing in front of an ornate door. The servant was dismissed, then Rilian opened the door, and motioned Petra to follow. She did so.

As she entered the room, she had to gasp. It was the treasure chamber. "This is amazing," she whispered, frozen.

Then she noticed Rilian. He was standing in front of three cabinets with glass doors. Inside the one on the far right was a sword and shield. Inside the one on the far left was a cordial and a dagger. Inside the center cabinet was a horn, a bow and a quiver of arrows. It took Petra only a second to realize what the cabinets held. They were Father Christmas's gifts to Peter, Susan and Lucy. She had seen the pictures of them in the books. They looked even more magnificent and beautiful in real life.

Rilian opened the center cabinet and removed the bow and quiver. "Do you know what these are?" he asked.

"They are Susan's presents from Father Christmas," said Petra without hesitation.

"Exactly," said Rilian. "If Queen Susan was your Great-grandmother as you claim, I would think that you would have her skill with the bow."

"I wouldn't know," admitted Petra. "I've never shot one before. Sandai said she was considering giving me some lessons, but we hadn't gotten around to it."

"Queen Susan never taught you?" questioned Rilian.

Petra shook her head. "She is very old in my world. And I don't think she has touched a bow since she left Narnia the second time. She … finds it painful that she can't return, and bows bring back memories that make the separation even harder."

"I see," said Rilian. "Well, even if you never received lessons, if you are her great-granddaughter, you may still have her skill, and Susan's bow does not easily miss. Would you like to go see."

Petra shrugged. "Sure."

"Very well, then," said Rilian. "Follow me."

So she did.

**Author's Note: So, there's chapter 7 and I leave you with a nice little cliffhanger. Review if you'd like to find out how good an archer Petra is!**


	8. Sure Shot  ?

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai and Annis._

**Chapter 8**

**Sure Shot … ?**

Petra soon found herself in a Narnian archery range. Rilian placed Susan's bow in her hands, and gave her instructions on how to shoot it. She followed these instructions … but it fell short several feet from the target.

"You didn't pull it back far enough," said Rilian.

"Oh," said Petra. She tried another arrow, but it didn't make it either, and, even if it had, it would have missed the target by several feet, the shot was so wild.

"Well, you got it further this time," said Rilian, encouragingly.

A wry grin pulled at the corner of Petra's mouth. "I obviously do not have beginner's luck," she said. She pulled out yet another arrow to shoot it.

This one reached the target, rather, it overshot the target and landed in the bushes behind it.

"Well, now you've mastered distance …" said Rilian. "Now to actually hit the target."

Just then, Sandai came into the archery range with her own bow. She noticed Rilian, and turned, intending to leave, but Petra noticed her. "Sandai," she said. "I'm not getting the hang of this. Do you think you can help me?"

Sandai turned back around, and she stood, undecided for a few seconds. "Very well," she said at last. She came over and helped Petra get into position, and pull back the arrow and all that. This arrow actually hit the target … just not the bulls eye.

"I definitely do not have beginner's luck," Petra said, shaking her head at this arrow.

"You're getting better," said Rilian encouragingly.

Just then, a servant came in, announcing that dinner was served and they had to interrupt the lesson. "I guess we'll have to continue the lesson tomorrow?" suggested Rilian, as they left.

"I'd rather not," admitted Petra. "I don't think I have a talent for Archery."

"Well, not many people get it on their first try," said Sandai. "It took me some time before I finally mastered it."

"Susan's bow doesn't easily miss," said Petra. "I was missing with it. If I was missing with Susan's bow, I obviously do not have the talent."

"Are you sure you're Susan's great-granddaughter?" questioned Rilian.

"No, I'm not," said Petra. "All I'm sure about the fact that I came from Queen Susan's world, and that my great-grandmother claimed to be Queen Susan, and that she gave me these books." Without thinking, she pulled out one of the books from her satchel, "The Silver Chair" to be specific. She handed it to Rilian.

As Rilian paged through it, his eyes went wide. "The pictures are exact, and beyond what any artist could do. However did your great-grandmother come by it?"

"She says Aslan gave it to her," said Petra. "So that she would not forget Narnia again."

"Again?"

"She found the memories of Narnia painful, and therefore convinced herself that it was all a game she and her siblings played," explained Petra. "For some time, she ceased to be a friend of Narnia."

"Oh," said Rilian.

"But then she had a great … tragedy, and she could no longer ignore the fact that her Narnia did exist, and so she believed again," continued Petra. "And Aslan gave her these books so that she wouldn't forget. Or at least, that's the story Great-grandmother told me."

Rilian handed the book back to Petra. "I'm going to believe that your great-grandmother told the truth," he said. "These books could not have come about by ordinary means. You are the great-granddaughter of Queen Susan the Gentle, and even if you aren't, there is reason that Aslan sent you here and that you posses these books." He looked over to where Sandai had been walking beside them, but Sandai had gone.

**Author's Note: So Petra is now officially the great-granddaughter of Queen Susan, and she can't shoot an arrow it appears. Please leave a review!**


	9. Revelation

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai and Annis._

**Chapter 9**

**Revelation**

Petra followed Rilian to the banquet hall where supper was served. She found herself seated on Rilian's left hand. She glanced down the tables at all the lords and ladies and such. There were dwarves and fauns and all sorts of Narnian creatures there as well. She looked for Sandai and Annis, and thought she saw them at the far end of one of the tables, but it was so far away that she wasn't sure.

As soon as they were all seated, Rilian rose from his chair and addressed the assembly. "Today," he said, "a girl was brought here. Not just any girl, but a girl from the world from whence came the kings and queens of old." He paused to allow for gasps and whisperings, then he continued, "And not just any girl from the world of our kings and queens of old, but the great-granddaughter of Queen Susan herself." He paused again for more gasps and whisperings. "Her name is Petra. I propose a toast in honor of our princess."

The toast was given, and Petra awkwardly expressed her thanks after it was done. She had never been one to crave the center of attention, especially if it were for something that she herself was not completely sure about. She spent all of supper in silence, eating slowly do to nervousness. If someone asked her a question, she answered, though usually in a monosyllable.

Finally, supper was over, and she was able to retreat to the privacy of her room. Unfortunately, this was not to last, for, minutes after she was alone, there was a knock at the door. She sighed, got off the bed, and answered it.

A grin tugged at the corner of her mouth, however, as she answered it. It was Annis. She could deal with Annis. They'd been traveling together for the last two days, after all.

"Momma says we're leavin' tomorrow," said Annis, a frown creasing her brow. The frown looked so out of place on her usually cheerful face. "I don't wanna leave. This place is so pretty, and there are_ people _here, and not just animals and dryads."

"Your momma wants to get back home, that's all," said Petra. "I don't think she likes royalty that much."

"She's been actin' funny ever since she decided to come here," said Annis, as Petra took her hand and lead her to the bed. "She doesn't usually get on to me for fallin' over. She usually laughs."

"Maybe she doesn't want to make a bad impression," said Petra.

Annis sighed, and put her arms around Petra in a hug. "I don't like Momma like this." Then, almost without a pause, and an instant change in tone of voice, she said, "You're a princess, Petra! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Yeah," said Petra, with a half-grin, "every girl's dream. Be a Princess. Especially a princess of some magical place like Narnia."

"They'll probably give you Susan's bow!" said Annis, excitedly.

"They've already tried," said Petra, wryly. "I don't have the talent to use it."

"Oh," said Annis.

There suddenly was another knock at the door. This time it was Sandai. "I don't mean to disturb you," she said. "But have you seen Annis?"

"She's right here," said Petra, pointing to where Annis was sliding off the bed and skipping over to them.

"Thank-you, Princess Petra," said Sandai, taking Annis's hand. "I'm sorry for any disturbances she caused."

"I was glad for her company," said Petra. "And please, it's just Petra, same as you've always called me."

"Very well," said Sandai, as she turned to go, "Petra."

"Oh, Petra," said Annis over her shoulder as her mother lead her away. "Can you make sure you see us off. I don't want to leave until we say good-bye."

"I'll make sure," Petra promised.

And she did. The next morning, she made sure she was up in time to see Sandai and Annis off. Interestingly enough, Rilian was there to see them off as well. He said it was in thanks for them taking the time to bring Petra to Cair Paravel.

They said their good-byes, Annis's a very tearful one, and started down the path.

Suddenly, Rilian gave a start, as if he had just noticed something. "Lady Daisania!" he exclaimed.

Sandai half turned to look at him. "Yes?" she said, in an odd tone.

"You're … I …" Rilian stammered.

"It's too late for apologies, Rilian," said Sandai, and she turned her back to them again and continued down the road. Rilian just stared, frozen.

"Why did he call you Lady Daisania?" Annis's question floated back to Petra.

"Hush," came Sandai's response. "It doesn't matter."

**Author's Note: And there's chapter 9. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.**


	10. Lady Daisania

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai and Annis._

**Chapter 10**

**Lady Daisania**

"Why did you call her Lady Daisania?" questioned Petra, as Sandai and Annis disappeared from sight.

Rilian turned to her and blinked. "She was the younger sister of a close friend of mine, Lord Danvian," He finally explained. "Her engagement to another friend of mine, Lord Sorian, was announced just before I … disappeared. When Eustace and Jill finally rescued me, I learned that both her husband and brother had perished in search of me, and that she and her newborn daughter had disappeared the night after she received the news of their deaths. I was going to send out a search for her … but more pressing matters suddenly presented themselves."

"More pressing matters?" queried Petra.

"Yes," said Rilian, with a sigh. He seemed about to explain, but, just then, there was the sound of horse's hooves, and a man rode up on a horse.

"Ghoop," said Rilian in a serious tone, as the rider slowed to a stop, "What news?"

Ghoop dismounted, he looked rather discouraged, which made Rilian look worried. "The Old Centaur," said Ghoop, "said that the Dragon's doom is to be brought about by, and only by, Susan's Heir. But there is no Susan's Heir."

"But there is," said Rilian.

"Dragon?" Petra squeaked, realizing that Rilian was speaking of her as being Susan's Heir, and wanting to know exactly what Rilian was planning on pitting her against.

"There is a Susan's Heir?" questioned Ghoop at the same time.

Rilian chose to answer Ghoop's query first. "This is Princess Petra," he said, indicating Petra. "She is the great-granddaughter of Queen Susan." Then he answered Petra's squeak. "I was just coming to the matter of the Dragon. You see, that was the pressing matter that caused me to neglect the matter of a search for the Lady Daisania and her daughter."

"Oh," said Petra in a small voice. She bit the inside of her cheek, partly in fear of the fact that they appeared to be about to fling her at a dragon, partly in annoyance at the fact that Ghoop was bowing in front of her.

"It is most fortunate that you have appeared in our hour of need, princess," said Ghoop.

"Um … yeah, I guess it is," said Petra, awkwardly. "And you don't have to bow. I'm not used to it, you see. I'm just a common, ordinary girl back home." She turned to Rilian. "I'm going to have to fight a dragon? What sort of dragon? Not a fire-breathing sort – please tell me it's not the fire-breathing sort."

"It's a winged fire-breathing sort, actually," said Rilian, not quelling her fears. "It's also red with a black underside and eyes. And it's about forty feet long."

"And you're just going to fling and innocent girl you've only just met at it?" Petra was practically frantic at this point.

"No," said Rilian. "You and I are going to track it down together. We'll leave tomorrow morning. That should give us time to prepare."

"But what if I don't want to fight a dragon?"

"Aslan sent you here for a reason, Petra," said Rilian. "This may be the reason."

"But what if it isn't?"

"What other Susan's Heirs do you think we're going to come across?" asked Rilian. "You're the only one."

"But I can't shoot her bow," said Petra.

"You have her books."

"Fine," said Petra. "I'll go. But I'll warn you … if I get killed, maimed or anything like that – I'm suing."

"Suing?" queried Rilian. "And what, pray tell, is that?"

"I …" said Petra, caught off guard. "It's something we do in my world …?"

**Author's Note: And there's chapter 10, which is dedicated to MCH, by the way. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.**


	11. Purpose

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai and Annis._

**Chapter 11**

**Purpose**

Petra found herself lost as preparations were made for their journey. People and various creatures bustled here and there and everywhere getting Rilian and Petra ready to go. They had all sent people off on adventures like this before, and therefore knew exactly what to do. Petra, on the other hand, had never been on an adventure like this before, and therefore did not know what to do, and therefore was more in the way than of help.

So she spent most of the day being lost, and somewhat resenting having to go on this quest. Having Susan for a great-grandmother, sure, that was cool. Actually traveling to Narnia and to Cair Paravel – that was cool too. But fighting a dragon was … not cool.

It sounded rather hot, actually. Hot as in, she was probably going to end up fried like a crisp.

But there was nothing for it, since she was here, and everyone seemed to think that she was the one would bring this dragon to its doom. She could, she supposed, run away – but how? There were guards everywhere and she didn't know where to go. She barely knew her way around the castle, and only enough that she could _usually _get back to her room from wherever she got taken.

So the rest of the day passed like this, and eventually, she found herself in her room that night in her nightgown. She was too worked up to fall asleep, so she read instead.

She reached into her satchel, as she didn't have any other books in her room, and randomly pulled a book out of it. It proved to be _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. _She opened it up at a random point and began reading at a random line. She was sure that she would soon have these books memorized soon, she'd been reading them so much.

Suddenly, a picture of Susan moved. Petra gasped.

Susan in the picture blinked, and set down the bow and arrow, and turned to Petra in the room. "Aslan has given leave for me to speak to me through these books," Susan-in-the-picture told Petra.

"You're just a picture!" Petra squeaked.

Susan-in-the-picture laughed. "In a way, yes, I suppose so," she said. "I am a picture, since I'm using a picture to talk to you. But I'm also right where you left me this afternoon, in the nursing "

"Three days ago," corrected Petra.

"Three days then," said Susan. "Time flows funny between worlds. Have you discovered your mission here yet?"

"They want me to fight a dragon!" Petra blurted out.

"I see," said Susan. "And you are afraid?"

"I've never fought a dragon before!" said Petra.

"My brothers and sisters and I had never fought a witch before, either," said Susan. "Petra, when Aslan gives one a task, he doesn't do it on your merits. He likes to use the most unlikely – for his power shines through the best when yours does not obscure it. Trust Aslan, Petra. If he gives you a task, he will also give you the strength to fulfill it."

"But –," said Petra, then sighed when she realized the picture had gone back to normal. "That was … freaky," she muttered as she shut the book. "I must be really tired, or … that must be it! I'm asleep! This whole venture into Narnia and finding out Great-grandma is Queen Susan is all a dream. And it doesn't matter what I do in a dream, I'd just wake up if it got too scary. I guess I'll go."

And with that happy thought put the book back into the satchel, climbed under the covers and fell asleep, failing to wonder on how especially long this dream was.

Next thing she knew, it was morning, and traveling clothes were laid out for her to change into. It was still a dress, but it wasn't quite as long, and there were leggings under it. It was a sturdy, brown material, which would travel well, and protect some against thorns and such. There were also some boots for her to put on, which she did, then she headed down to the breakfast hall for breakfast.

**Author's Note: And there you go for Chapter 11. Please leave a review!**


	12. On Their Way

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai and Annis._

**Chapter 12**

**On Their Way**

After breakfast, they went down to the courtyard, where the horses were ready to go. As Petra had informed them that she had absolutely NO experience with horse riding, a talking horse had volunteered to save them the time that would be necessary to teach Petra how to ride a dumb horse. She was a small, brown mare named Swifthoof who claimed ancestry of Bree or Hwin. She seemed unsure of which, as every time you asked her, it was the other. She didn't talk much.

They were traveling in the direction from which they had last received reports of this dragon. Petra didn't say anything as she and Swifthoof followed Rilian, but she recognized the paths they were taking to be the same ones that Sandai – I mean, Lady Daisania – and Annis had used to bring her to Cair Paravel, although they were traveling quite a bit faster as they were on horseback. She wasn't all that familiar with the lay of the land, and therefore didn't know that that would mean anything. She hoped that it didn't.

She also hoped that the fact that they never passed Lady Daisania and Annis didn't mean anything. Maybe they had simply used different trails so that they wouldn't be followed?

"What is life like in your world?" Rilian asked Petra for conversation to make the trip seem less tedious. "I have always been curious, but was unable to satisfy my curiosity while Eustace and Jill were here, as there was no time."

"It's different from Narnia," said Petra. "And the part of it I know is very different from what Eustace and Jill knew. It's been sixty years or so, and they've been some years of rather … radical change."

"What do you mean?" queried Rilian.

"Well," said Petra. "For instance, we've developed more technology –."

"Technology?" interrupted Rilian.

Petra pursed her lips while she searched her brain for a way to explain technology. "If I tried to explain it to you," she finally said, "you would think it some sort of magic – but it isn't magic. Maybe a sort of replacement for magic? I don't know. We use something called electricity, which works best with special metals, and we make it do stuff for us – like lighting up rooms, sending messages, making pictures out of light – stuff like that. They didn't have very much technology in our world as Jill and Eustace knew it."

"It sounds most wondrous," said Rilian.

"It is, isn't it," said Petra, as if the thought had just occurred to her, which it had. "We're so used to it, though, we fail to take notice of it. Another difference is that girls are allowed to wear pants."

"I noticed that you were wearing them when you arrived the other day," said Rilian.

"Yes," said Petra. "We still wear dresses – or at least most of us do – just not every day. We mostly wear them when it's a fancy occasion or something like that. And church. Almost all women wears dresses to church."

"And what, may I ask, is church?" asked Rilian.

"Church is where we gather to worship, and praise, and learn about Jesus – which is what we call Aslan in our world," said Petra. "We usually go on Sunday mornings and evenings, and often on Wednesday evenings, and sometimes we go other days of the week."

"Aslan is in your world, too?" asked Rilian.

"Yes," said Petra. "And he instructed King Edmund and Queen Lucy to find him there before he sent them back to their world for the last time. They did. I don't know how long it took them, but I'm sure it didn't take them very long. When you search for Him, He never hides himself from you."

"I am glad to –," Rilian was about to say, but was suddenly cut short but a noise from the branches of the woods about them.

It was a girlish voice saying these words in an oddly cheerful manor, as it was accompanied by the sound of snapping branches and twigs, "LOOK OUT BELOW!"

**Author's Note: And there you go for Chapter 12. Please leave a review so we can find out who's falling!**


	13. Raycheer

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai and Annis._

**Chapter 13**

**Raycheer**

Petra stared in surprise at the girl who had tumbled out of the trees and was now sitting on the ground in front of her. The girl seemed unhurt, as she sprang up almost immediately. She had bright eyes, and rather pointed nose and chin. Her hair reminded Petra of Ostrich feathers, and her dress was made of feathers.

"Oh, hello!" she said, in the same cheerful voice that she had used while falling. "I knew I wouldn't fall on anyone." Then she laughed a very birdlike laughter. "Oh, but we're still strangers!" A frown flickered across her brow. "I'm Raycheer the Sunglimmer," she continued, "so now I'm not a stranger to you! But you're still strangers to me. Who are you?"

"I am King Rilian," said Rilian, "and this is Princess Petra, the great-granddaughter of Queen Susan."

"Oh!" said Raycheer. "It is my lucky day then!" Then she made a low curtsy-like movement, as she said, "It's an honor, your majesties."

Despite knowing that it was rude, Petra just stared at the girl. She definitely did not look human, but she couldn't place her as any Narnian creature she had read about. She had said she was a Sunglimmer … what was a Sunglimmer?

Rilian seemed undisturbed by her, as he asked her, "Have you seen the Dragon recently? We have been told that Susan's Heir could bring her doom – so Petra, Susan's Heir, and I are following the dragon's trail in hopes of finding it."

"Dragon?" said the girl, tilting her head to once side so far, it was almost upside-down. "Dragon … Oh! Yes, I saw the Dragon!"

"When?" asked Rilian, "and what direction was it headed?"

Raycheer started turning in circles as she thought. "I think it was yesterday," she said, "or was it the day before today?" She tweeted again. "Oh, but yesterday and the day before today are the same thing, aren't they? So it must have been both! And it was flying …." She suddenly stopped spinning and thrust out an arm, her finger pointing towards the woods, "that way, I think … It scared me so bad, I hardly had time to think! But I was lucky and able to hide, so it didn't see me. Besides, it already had a black-haired little girl in its claw, so it didn't want to bother with me!"

"A black-haired little girl!" exclaimed Petra, thinking suddenly of Annis. "What did she look liked."

Raycheer chirped. "Oh, so you can speak, Princess Petra! I was beginning to wonder if you were mute! It's a good thing you aren't, as people who are mute have such a hard time of it!"

"What did the girl look like?" Rilian repeated Petra's question. Then he leaned over to Petra and whispered, "Sunglimmers are incredibly distractable, hate to stay on topic, and never take anything seriously."

"I told you she had black hair," said Raycheer. "I couldn't seen anything else for certain. But some time later, a woman passed under my tree yelling, 'Annis! Annis!'"

"ANNIS!" shouted Petra. "It got Annis!"

"You know Annis?" questioned Raycheer. "Good! One of us does – I certainly don't!"

"Raycheer," said Rilian, "Would you mind coming with us as a guide? You can show us where the dragon went, and maybe we can help Annis."

"Oh!" cried Raycheer. "That sounds like such fun!"

"She's not riding me," said Swifthoof with a whikker. "I agreed to carry the Princess, not a Sunglimmer who won't stay silent. It would be such a shame! A descendant of Hwin carrying a Sunglimmer!"

"She can ride behind me," said Rilian.

Raycheer giggled, and jumped up onto Rilian's horse behind him. "Let's go!" she cried. Then she frowned. "Horses can't travel through trees, can they? We'll have to keep to the paths. Let's see … go that direction!"

She pointed in the very direction they were headed.

So that was the direction they continued heading.

**Author's Note: And that's chapter 13! Sorry about taking so long on it … I got writer's block … and my writer's block had cleared up on some other stories of mine, so I worked on them instead. Well, anyways, please leave a review so they can continue their trip!**


	14. Amber

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai, Annis Raycheer and Amber._

**Chapter 14**

**Amber**

As they rode along, Rilian and Raycheer explained to Petra about Sunglimmers. Sunglimmers were the opposite of Marshwiggles. While Marshwiggles had a pessimistic outlook on life, Sunglimmers were always optimistic. While Marshwiggles resembled frogs, Sunglimmers resembled birds. While Marshwiggles lived by themselves in swamps, Sunglimmers lived in trees and in largish communities. Raycheer was actually quite rare for Sunglimmers, in that she liked solitude, when she would go and sit in her "tree" for an hour or so, then return to her community.

She had been on her way back from her tree when she had slipped and fallen and landed in front of Rilian, Petra, and Swifthoof.

Their conversation was interrupted, however, when they ran into a woman examining her horse's hoof. She looked to be in her late twenties, had flame red hair and was wearing a black dress and a red cloak. She looked up as the party approached her. "Oh, hello," she said, in a thick accent that reminded Petra of German. "My horse won't go anywhere, and I can't figure out why. Could you kind travelers help me?"

"Willingly," said Rilian, dismounting. The woman put the horse's hoof down, and stepped back. Rilian began his examination.

"My name's Amber, by the way," continued the woman. "And who would you kind travelers be?"

"I am King Rilian," said Rilian. "And these are my companions, Princess Petra, Susan's heir," at the mention of her name, Petra saw something ever so briefly flash through Amber's eyes. Unfortunately, it flashed far too fast for Petra to identify what it was. "The Sunglimmer, Raycheer, and the talking horse, Swifthoof."

"Who is directly descended from Bree himself!" declared Swifthoof.

"It is an honor to make your acquaintances," said Amber. "I had … heard of you, Rilian … but I had not realized you were so …" She smiled coyly. Petra frowned. She didn't trust this Amber. "What brings you to this forest?"

"We are looking for the dragon," blurted Petra. "Do you know where he is?"

"Oh, the dragon?" said Amber. "I've actually never seen it in person. I'm told it's quite ferocious, though. Oh, and that reminds me, and I had a small kitten – not a talking one, I got it from up north – but while I was checking my horse's hooves, my kitten hopped out of my hands and ran away," the woman fixed her eyes on Petra. "Would you please be a dear and look for her for me? I went through great difficulty in finding it."

Petra hesitated. She did not trust Amber, but she didn't want to seem rude.

"Please, do, Petra," said Rilian. "It shouldn't take you too long to find the kitten."

Petra frowned, and dismounted. "All right," she said "I'll … look."

"There's a dear," said Amber, as Petra ventured into the wood. She didn't plan to go far, just look around a bit, and come right back, and say that she hadn't found it. And that's what she did. She couldn't have been searching for the kitten fifteen minutes.

But when she got back, Rilian and Amber, and their horses, were gone.

Raycheer and Swifthoof were still there. Swifthoof was nibbling on some grass, and Raycheer was hanging from her knees from a tree.

"Where's King Rilian!" Petra demanded.

"Oh," said Raycheer. "Amber said that she knew where the dragon's lair was and that she could lead Rilian too it. She said that we couldn't follow."

"Rilian said they'd be right back," added Swifthoof.

"No …" whispered Petra, then, louder, she added. "We must follow them!"

"But Amber said …" said Raycheer.

"I don't care what Amber said," said Petra. She mounted Swifthoof. "Come on, Raycheer. We must hurry. I don't know who Amber is, but whoever she is, she's trouble, and King Rilian is in danger!"

"I am not carrying her," declared Swifthoof. "The indignity of it! A decendant of Hwin carrying a Sunglimmer!"

"Please, Swifthoof," said Petra. "Your King's life might be in danger."

"And it might not be," said Raycheer.

"Look," said Petra, "it's going to take Susan's Heir – that's me – to bring about the dragon's doom. That means I need to be there!"

Swifthoof shook her mane. "Fine," she said. "Get on, Sunglimmer."

Raycheer laughed, swung off of the tree, and positioned herself behind Petra. "My name's Raycheer," she reminded.

**Author's Note: And there's chapter 14, and Rilian is … missing. Please leave a review to encourage me to write the next chapter and try and find Rilian.**


	15. Gone

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai, Annis, Swifthoof, Raycheer and Amber._

**Chapter 15**

**Gone.**

They rode along at top speed for some time. If Petra weren't so worried, she would have been savoring the feel of the wind in her hair … the sun on her skin … all the glories of riding on a galloping horse she had read about in all the books she had read.

But she was worried, and the wind in her face and the sun on her skin hardly registered to her mind. Rilian was missing – Narnia's King! – and that Amber seemed to be the culprit. She had to find Amber. She hadn't trusted her the moment she had heard her thick accent, and her distrust had grew every second.

Suddenly, Swifthoof came to a complete stop.

"What is it!" Petra almost shouted. "We need to find Rilian!"

"The tracks stopped," panted Swifthoof, shaking her mane as she turned around and walked for a short ways from where they had been coming from. "I'd been watching. They … just vanished! Look! Here's where they stopped."

Petra and Raycheer dismounted, and examined the ground. Sure enough, up to that point, there had been three sets of hoofprints – and after that point, just Swifthoof's.

"Where did they go!" Petra exclaimed.

"Honestly, Princess Petra," said Swifthoof, "I don't know."

"Maybe they flew!" suggested Raycheer. At the odd looks that were turned to her, she shrugged and added, "just a suggestion."

Petra looked back down at the tracks and frowned. "Maybe they did fly …" she said. She pointed to the neighboring field. It looked flattened, and slightly singed. "Maybe she was a trap set by the dragon."

"That still doesn't help us any," said Swifthoof. "None of us can fly."

"I can glide!" argued Raycheer. "I am a Sunglimmer, after all."

"You can glide, yes," said Swifthoof. "But gliding isn't flying, and it won't help us find the dragon – or Rilian."

Petra was silent as she stared up at the sky. "It's getting late," she said, after a few minutes. "We should go to bed. Perhaps, in the morning we'll be able to think of this in a more rational state of mind."

"A wise suggestion, Princess Petra," said Swifthoof.

Petra frowned. "I'd take your saddle and packs off … but I don't know how, and I'm not sure I'd be able to get them back on once they're off."

"I'll take them off!" exclaimed Raycheer. "And I'll put them back on when we need to in the morning!"

And before Petra knew it, Raycheer had the saddle off, which she then deposited on the ground. "Now," Raycheer announced, "we need to fix supper."

Petra sighed and searched the packs and came up with some food. Luckily, the food had been in Swifthoof's packs. Unfortunately, the tents had been in Rilian's. Therefore, they had to sleep under the stars. They didn't even have blankets. Raycheer and Swifthoof were fine enough. Swifthoof was a horse, and slept the way horses sleep. Raycheer … all she needed was a tree, and there was a few not far off.

So Petra had a hard time falling asleep. She finally gave up, and pulled a book out of the pack to read it by the fire, to which she added a few more branches to make it burn a tad bit higher. Well, actually, she wasn't reading, she knew better than to ruin her eyes like that. She was just looking at the pictures.

She gasped when a picture of Susan moved. Sure, it had happened before … but she had dismissed it as a dream.

"Hello, Petra," said the picture. "How are you doing on your mission?"

"Rilian's missing," Petra blurted. "He went of with a woman named Amber … and we think she was some sort of trap laid by the dragon, and that she's taken him to the dragon's lair."

"Ah," said Susan. "I can see how you are worried. Get some sleep, Petra. I'm sure something will occur to you in the morning."

"I can't sleep," mumbled Petra, but the picture had returned to normal. Petra sighed. This was going to be a long night.

**Author's Note: And here is chapter 15. Now, no more chapters until I have at least as many reviews for this story as there are chapters. That's only 3 reviews for this chapter. That's all I ask, three reviews! **


	16. Where next

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are Petra, Sandai, Annis, Swifthoof, Raycheer and Amber._

**Chapter 16**

**Where next ...**

The next thing Petra knew, Raycheer was shaking her. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! How are we going to rescue King Rilian! How are we going to rescue King Rilian."

Petra sat up and rubbed her eyes. "It's morning …" she observed.

"Yes, it is!" said Raycheer. "And you said you'll come up with a way to rescue King Rilian in the morning, and since it's morning, how are we going to rescue King Rilian …"

"I don't know yet," said Petra, frowning. "I'm not awake yet …"

"Sure you're awake, you're talking, aren't you?"

"Have respect for the Princess, Sunglimmer," came Swifthoof's accusing voice. "Leave her alone if she wishes to be left alone."

"But …"

"Honestly," said Swifthoof, "Sunglimmers are worse than children!"

"We need help," said Petra. "We aren't going to be able to find Rilian on our own. We haven't the slightest idea where to look, except that it's likely to he above the ground somewhere, and that we're pretty sure the dragon got him. But we're going to need help finding him."

"Who's going to help us?" asked Raycheer.

Petra shrugged. "I don't know. Aslan, maybe?"

"Oh, of course Aslan will help us!" declared Raycheer. "He's the one who sent you on this mission, didn't he! You are so clever Princess Petra … now what are we going to do, now that Aslan's going to help us?"

"I don't know …" said Petra frowning. "What's for breakfast?"

"Oh!" cried Raycheer. "That's a wonderful idea! We'll eat breakfast! Breakfast is sure to help us find King Rilian."

Petra sighed as she looked through the saddlebags for something to eat. She found herself almost agreeing with Swifthoof's muttering of "Sunglimmers."

As for Raycheer, she climbed the tree again and picked some sort of nut and ate it, quite oblivious to the annoyance she caused her traveling companions. Once they had eaten, they both got back on Swifthoof and continued their way.

Petra let Swifthoof choose the way. She herself had no idea in the least of where they should go, and since Swifthoof was the one doing the actual exercise, Petra thought it only right that she choose where she wanted to go. One way was as good as another, as far as Raycheer was concerned.

They saw few other faces. When Petra asked why, Swifthoof had answered that, "This place has been the most ravished by the dragon. There are few left living, and those who are, are afraid show their faces lest the dragon take them, too."

"Oh," said Petra. "Do you think the dragon will try to take us?"

"The dragon appears to want to stay as far from you as possible, yet at the same time, rendering you as weak and powerless as possible," said Swifthoof. "The dragon has obviously already had the chance to take you, but it did not."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, Princess Petra," said Raycheer. "You'll win, you'll see. They said you would, and, therefore, you will."

"Thanks," said Petra with a sigh.

Swifthoof's ears suddenly pricked, and she stopped walking and looked about.

"What is it?" asked Petra.

"Listen," said Swifthoof. "Do you hear it."

Petra strained her ears, and heard a faint whisper of, "Psst! Over here!"

**Author's Note: Okay, I relent, I will go ahead and post. I do enjoy writing this, though I'm not sure how much story there is left. I know how it will end, I'm just not sure how, exactly it's going to get there. Please leave a review!**


	17. Pipper

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with._

**Chapter 17**

**Pipper**

Petra glanced about. "H-who's there?" she asked.

"Shush!" came the voice again, "not so loud! Down here!"

Petra looked down. Perched on a rock not far from her was a mouse. It was not a very big mouse by Narnian standards – only little bit bigger than the mice of our own world. His fur was gray. Petra blinked for a second, considering whether or not to do the normal female reaction to a mouse – scream. Luckily, she quickly remembered that she was in Narnia. "Um, hello," she said instead. "Were you the one talking?"

"Of course," said the mouse. "Who else is here to talk to you, other than your companions."

"He's right, you know," Raycheer chimed in. "Rocks don't talk."

"No, they don't," agreed the mouse. "Leastwise, I have never heard one personally, nor have I heard tell of one. But, that is beside the point, and the point is this – isn't it dangerous for you to be out here – the dragon could attack at any moment – and you are quite exposed."

"Oh, yes," said Petra. "It is quite stupid for us to be out like this. We should be back home wherever our homes are. No, we shouldn't be out hunting the dragon. Yet, here we are."

"You are hunting the dragon?" asked the mouse.

"She is Princess Petra," Swifthoof cut in. "great-granddaughter of Queen Susan herself. She has been prophesied to be the Dragon's doom."

The mouse made a bow. "It is a pleasure, your highness. Pipper at your service."

Petra sighed. "Please, just call me Petra. These are my friends – Swifthoof and Raycheer."

"I'm Raycheer," informed Raycheer.

"Really?" said Swifthoof, "I would have thought a name like SwiftHOOF would be given to a Sunglimmer."

"Enough, you two," said Petra.

"Very well, Petra," said Pipper, "your wish is my command. You hunt the Dragon, you say?"

"Yes we do," said Petra. "And it's not going so well so far – we've already let the Dragon kidnap King Rilian."

"That is most unfortunate," said Pipper. "No, it is worse than unfortunate – it is a dire catastrophe. It is not good that thee women – though they horse, Sunglimmer, and human – to be alone by themselves without someone to protect them. May I offer my services?"

"Um," said Petra. He was a mouse. Petra thought of Reepicheep, yet she still hesitated."

"I can show you how to find the Dragon," Pipper suggested.

"Well," said Petra, "If you can do that, we would be most grateful. We have absolutely no idea how to find him."

"Her," corrected Pipper.

"Pardon?" said Petra.

"Her," Pipper repeated, scampering up Swifthoof's leg, "the Dragon is a her." He was now on Petra's knee. "Where should I ride, Petra?"

"Umm," said Petra.

"It has to be somewhere where I can see," the mouse continued. "So that I can tell you the proper way to go."

"You can ride on my shoulder," said Petra.

"As you wish, milady," said the mouse.

Petra winced as the mouse scampered up her arm and took his position on her shoulder.

"I have a nice view from here," said Pipper. "And you have nice hair, very nice hair."

"Um, thank you," said Petra.

"Now," said Pipper, "we'll have to go that way to find the Dragon."

**Author's Note: And there we have Chapter 17. Sorry about taking so long to update, but I've been busy, and have had writer's block. Anyways, please leave a review.**


	18. Below the Lair

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with._

**Chapter 18**

**Below the Lair**

And so they rode along, Pipper giving directions. For a while, there was mostly silence, apart from pounding of Swifthoof's hooves, and Pipper's directions. Petra was grateful for this period of time to think.

It was over far too soon when Raycheer piped up, "So, how do you know where to find the dragon, Pipper?"

Petra was annoyed at this for a few seconds, then realized that it might be a good idea for her to know how the mouse knew. For all she knew, it might be a trick.

"The Dragon," said the mouse, "she came and attacked my nest. We fought valiantly, my family and I, but she was too strong, and carried off or killed most of them. I was the only one to escape, as I am small, and was able to pass unnoticed." He seemed uncomfortable when he admitted to his lack of size. "I have since made a search for her in an effort to free what remained of my family. I hunted the dragon, and at last found her lair."

"Where is it?" Petra asked.

"That is better seen than explained," said Pipper. "I am sorry, your … Petra, but you shall soon see, we are not far off. Indeed, I see it now."

"Where?" asked Raycheer, leaning over to look around Petra, almost pulling them off of the horse. "I don't see it. All I see is lots of rocks and a funny black line."

"Look up," instructed Pipper. "At the sky."

Petra looked up at the sky. "I see a cloud," she said, after several moments.

"She lives on that cloud," said Pipper.

Swifthoof, hearing that, came to a halt. "Then how, please explain, are we going to get up there?"

Raycheer laughed. "I knew it!" she said, "I knew it! I knew she lived up in the sky somewhere! Where else would a dragon live?"

"Where else indeed," muttered Petra. Louder, she added, "How about in a cave like the dragon Eustace found did?"

"That would work too, I'm sure," said Raycheer. "But this one lives on a cloud, so I was still right!"

"May I repeat my question?" asked Swifthoof. "How are we going to get up there?"

Petra glanced over at the mouse on her shoulder, who, for the first time, looked a bit unsure of himself. "I usually climb the chain."

"Chain?" questioned Petra. "Where's that?"

"Is that the funny black line over there?" asked Raycheer.

"Why, yes, good Sunglimmer, it is," said Pipper. "Ride over there please, so we can see how we are to scale it."

Swifthoof did as the mouse instructed. While doing so, she gave a snort and said, "Good Sunglimmer, indeed."

As they neared the chain, Raycheer suddenly sprang off of Swifthoof's back and onto the chain. She climbed up it a ways, then climbed back down. "Oh, it's not hard, no problem at all!" she declared. "It will be easy! Easy breezy!"

"Perhaps for you, Raycheer," said Swifthoof. "You are a Sunglimmer. I'm a horse, and horses cannot climb chains, and I doubt that the Princess Petra can either. Humans don't often have the same climbing skills as to Sunglimmers."

"Oh," said Raycheer, frowning as she clung to the chain, almost monkey-like. "You two will have to stay behind, then."

"The Princess Petra is the one who needs to get to the Dragon's Lair," said Swifthoof.

"Oh," said Raycheer. She was silent for a while.

"The chain is there to keep the cloud from floating just anywhere," the mouse said, trying to gloss over the silence. It didn't help much, as they were plunged right back into the silence again.

"I might could carry Princess Petra on my back," the Sunglimmer suddenly said. "She doesn't look like she weighs very much. How much do you weigh, Petra?"

Petra glared at Raycheer.

**Author's Note: And there we have Chapter 18. Oh, how to get them up there. So close, yet so far away … Well, anyways, leave a review if you liked it!**


	19. Cloudland

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with. _

**Chapter 19**

**Cloudland**

In the end, Raycheer decided that Petra was not too heavy for her to carry – although she never got out of Petra her exact weight. Petra found herself tied to Raycheer's, hoping that she wouldn't fall off, and that the Sunglimmer wouldn't loose her grip and fall.

Pipper was coming with them, but Swifthoof, being a horse, wasn't. Petra had debated leaving her book bag with Swifthoof, to make it less likely for the dragon to get a hold of it, but something made her keep it slung on her shoulder.

The journey took far too long, in Petra's mind. While she had, growing up, enjoyed climbing trees, this was not climbing trees. First of all, there were no branches to slow or even break a fall. Second, she was not in control. Raycheer was, and Raycheer … well, Raycheer wasn't exactly the person one would most want to have their life depend on.

They did, at last, get to the top. Petra felt somewhat better when she was surrounded by the fog of the cloud. It may have been cold and wet, but at least she could no longer see how far she was from the ground.

"Ouch!" Raycheer suddenly exclaimed, and climbed back down the chain a foot or so.

"What's the matter?" Petra asked, worried.

"I bumped my head," said Raycheer. She extended one hand upward, though keeping one firmly attached to the chain, to feel what she had bumped her head against. She giggled, which did not help Petra's mood. "I think we've hit the ceiling!"

Pipper, who had disappeared in the cloudy fog above them, reappeared. "Not ceiling, floor. Oh, dear, I'm not sure you will both fit through the hole – and definitely not at the same time."

"Oh, yes," Raycheer exclaimed, as she continued to feel around above her head. "Here's a hole. No, we won't fit through at the same time, oh, no we won't!"

"Then what do we do?" Petra exclaimed, panicking.

"Well, since you can't cling to the chain," said Pipper, "you will obviously have to go first, Petra."

It took some maneuvering, but soon Petra was in front of Raycheer, and Raycheer helped her to get her head and arms through the hole. It took some squeezing, but she managed to get her whole self through the hole. For some minutes after that, she just sat there, trying to reorganize her thoughts as Raycheer squeezed herself through the hole and joined her.

"That was fun!" the Sunglimmer exclaimed. "Let's do that again!"

Petra turned her a blank look. "That was scary. I don't want to ever do that again."

Raycheer frowned. "Then how are you going to get down?"

"Hopefully, not that way," Petra replied. She unsteadily rose to her feet, at last allowing herself to look about. The chain rose above them several more feet where it was attached to a a sort of junction with four more chains.

"There is some sort of magic ball up there," said Pipper, noticing where her attention was directed. "It's what holds the whole place up. The four other chains are attached to the four corners of the place and the one we just climbed is what keeps the whole place from floating away. The cloud is only to keep the place hidden from anyone who happens to look up from below."

"Oh, I see," said Petra, in a small voice. Then her face set with determination. "Come on, we can't just stand around all day talking. We have some doom to deliver to a dragon, and a King to rescue!"

"Here! Here!" Raycheer exclaimed.

"Hush," Pipper hushed. "Not so loud, the Dragon might hear you!"

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 19. I've been writing other stuff, so I'm sorry about ignoring this. But I don't plan to abandon this. I've actually have a trilogy planned for this – just a head's up!**


	20. The Dragon's Prisoners

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with. _

**Chapter 20**

**The Dragon's Prisoners**

"Now, now," said Pipper. "If we want to get King Rilian out of here and deliver the doom to the Dragon, we'd better be getting a move on."

"Oh, yes –!"

"Hush, Raycheer," said Petra. "We've got to be quiet. If you can't be quiet, you need to go back down at once."

"Oh," said Raycheer, very quietly. "I can be very very quiet, okay?"

"Okay," said Petra in a mirrored whisper. "Now, let's follow Pipper."

"Okay!"

"Shush!" Petra sighed.

They followed Pipper away from the chain. Ever so often, they would pass a person, who would glance at them in a trance-like way. There were humans, fauns, centaurs, dryads, marshwiggles, talking animals, even some creatures that Petra had not heard of before.

"Leafglitter!" Raycheer suddenly exclaimed, rushing over to a sunglimmer that they were just passing. She grabbed the sunglimmer's hand. "Leafglitter! There you are! We've been looking all over for you!"

The sunglimmer, apparently named Leafglitter, just starred past Raycheer, then pulled her hand from Raycheer's and returned to the task she was doing.

"Leafglitter!"

Pipper crawled up and perched himself on Raycheer's shoulder. "Leave her, sunglimmer," he said. "She's under a spell, they all are. They can do the Dragon's orders. They can't even think for themselves."

"But Leafglitter!"

"Come on," said Pipper, "we need to find King Rilian before the Dragon finds us. Come, there's nothing we can do for Leafglitter."

Raycheer heaved a huge sigh as Pipper scampered back down to the ground and she turned back to Petra. "I knew something had happened to my sister, but I had no idea …" she drifted off, then a huge smile spread across her face. "We're going to give the Dragon its doom, aren't we? That will fix Leafglitter won't it?"

"Hopefully," said Petra. "If we can succeed in giving the Dragon her doom."

"Oh, we will, Princess Petra," said Raycheer. "You're Susan's Heir, you know. You've got to be able to do it!"

Petra sighed. "Just be quiet so that we won't be heard."

They walked along for quite some ways in silence, entering a large castle. There were no guards, due to the fact that the place's location was practically guard enough. Then Petra suddenly let out a gasp. "Annis!" She rushed over to the girl, who was scrubbing the floor.

"Princess Petra …" said Pipper.

Petra couldn't bring herself to heed Pipper, as she stared into her young friend's sightless blue eyes. How could anyone be this cruel? The Dragon had to be simply heartless to do this, to reduce all these people, including children, innocent children, to mindless slaves.

"Princess Petra," said Pipper again.

Petra turned away, blinking back threatening tears. Then she noticed Sandai – Lady Daisania – standing just a few feet away, apparently oblivious of the existence of her daughter. "How can the Dragon be this cruel?" she asked.

"Oh, it's quite easy," said a thick, German-accented voice. Petra whirled around to see Amber standing there. "It's quite easy to be 'this cruel' when you are heartless." She laughed a cruel laugh.

"You!" Petra exclaimed, a sudden realization dawning on her. "You're the Dragon." She wondered why this had never occurred to her before.

A malicious smile spread across Amber's face. "Yes, yes I am. I wasn't planning on you coming here, Susan's Heir, but, I guess I'll have to make the best of it. I see you've brought me two new servants." She walked over to Pipper and Raycheer and waved her hand over the mouse's and sunglimmer's faces. They both fell as slack and expressionless as everyone else's. "Now just to decide what to do with you."

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 20. Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	21. Amber's Story

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with. _

**Chapter 21**

**Amber's Story**

Petra suddenly found a mindless centaur on each side of here. Before she could react, they had grabbed her and were carrying her off. She glanced behind her to see Amber following them.

Soon they set her down and pulled her hands behind her and tied her to a wooden post. Amber waved her hand and the two centaurs left. "It's just the two of us, Susan's Heir." She said, nonchalantly as she sat down in a ornate chair opposite the post Petra was tied to. "I'm waiting …"

"For … what?" Petra asked.

"For you to deliver my doom," said Amber, with a fake surprised voice. "Isn't that why you've come here? Oh, you don't know how? That's too bad."

Petra didn't respond, concentrating on trying to pull her hands out of her ropes.

"It seems we're in a stalemate, Susan's Heir," Amber continued. "You can't do anything about me, and, unfortunately, I can do nothing to you directly with my magic."

Petra stopped struggling and looked up with surprise. "You can't …"

"It's unfortunate, isn't it? However, I can still starve you to death. Doesn't that sound fine?"

"I'd die of dehydration first," Petra muttered, returning to her attempt to free herself.

"What's that?" asked Amber. "I didn't quite catch that."

"Why are you doing this, Amber?" Petra asked. "Beyond the obvious 'because you can.'"

"You are a sharp one, Susan's Heir," said Amber. "Why am I doing this, why am I doing this? Well, I've got you tied up because I can't do anything else to you, and it'd be very dangerous for me to just let you run around loose, now wouldn't it? Or are you talking about why I'm here, tormenting this horrid country you call Narnia?"

"That would be a nice explanation," Petra replied.

"Well, you see, I'm taking revenge for my sister, Peridot," Amber said with a wave of her hand. "Rilian killed her, you see. It's only the proper thing to do."

Petra's struggling went slack again. "Your sister?"

"You may know her better by her title," Amber replied. "She hated her name, you see, said it way too boyish for someone of such great beauty, so she went by her title exclusively."

"Her title?"

Amber rested her elbows on the arms of the chair and steepled her fingers. "She was called the Lady of the Green Kirtle. I am called the Lady of the Red Kirtle."

"She kidnapped Rilian and killed his mother!" Petra exclaimed.

"You're familiar with the story, then?" Amber asked, elegantly arching an eyebrow. "Of course, Rilian would have published it and made sure everyone knew how he killed a woman."

"She was a serpent!" Petra exclaimed, pulling against the rope.

"And so was I, at the time," Amber said, simply. "When my sister was killed, her power was transferred to me. Now I am a Dragon."

Petra decided not to respond to that, re-concentrating her attention to the ropes.

"We belong to an old order, Susan's Heir," Amber went on. "It dates back to the days of Jadis herself. You see, she got bored and lonely all alone in those horrid wastlands, so she found and adopted a poor young girl. When Jadis was killed, her magic went to the girl. The girl, now a older woman, adopted another girl, and her magic went to this girl when she died, and on and on it has gone. Unfortunately, the imortality did not The magic has never been quite the same each generation, as you can tell. You may recall that when Rilian's father took the throne, an offer to summon Jadis was made – but it wouldn't have summoned Jadis herself, but the current possessor of her power. My sister and I, coincidentally, are the first to have two of us have the power at the same time, however short it lasted. My sister was just too ambitious, you see."

Amber stood up. "I think I will leave you, now, Susan's Heir. I'm a busy person, and, as enjoyable as it may be, I can't sit around and entertain you all day." Then she swept out of the room, leaving Petra to her thoughts attempts to free herself from her bonds.

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 21. And, yes, I completely disregard the movies. They're great on their level, but to me only the books and most of the time-line is cannon. Anyways, please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	22. Starving to Death

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with. _

**Chapter 22**

**Starved to Death**

Petra had no idea how long she stood there. Every moment seemed like an eternity. The ropes bit into her wrists, and her feet began to hurt. Eventually, she slid down and into a sitting position. She couldn't believe she hadn't guessed sooner Amber's true identity. She had known that Amber had had something to do with the Dragon … but it had never occurred to her that they were one and the same.

She couldn't believe that she had allowed herself to walk into a trap. Worse, she had led her friends into the trap. She hoped that Swifthoof, at least would be able to escape … but Petra found that unlikely. Amber knew of Swifthoof.

The sightless eyes of her friends … Annis, Sandai, Raycheer, Pipper, as well as the eyes of every other of Amber's prisoners, haunted Petra every time she closed her eyes. How could anyone be that cruel? It was far worse even the fate that Petra herself faced, Petra was sure. And she was going to be starved to death. Her stomach growled to attest to that fact.

Her mind wandered over to the issue that Jill and Eustace had spoken of during the _Last Battle –_ what would happen to her body in her own world if she died here? How would her family and friends take it? Her great-grandmother would understand, she knew … but the rest. She thought of her parents, of her older brother, and of her younger sister. Would she ever see them again outside of Aslan's country?

Aslan …

"Oh, Aslan," Petra whispered. "Please help. The centaur said that Susan's Heir could bring the Dragon's doom … and here I am … what am I supposed to do now?"

The sound of footsteps on the stone floor of the floating castle jolted Petra out of her thoughts. The step was too loud to be that of Amber, whose foot steps were almost inaudible. She looked up to see a man. She stared at him for several seconds before she suddenly recognized him.

"King Rilian!" she exclaimed.

He gave her a condescending look. "My lady has instructed me to come and speak with you."

"Rub in the fact that she has me captured, you mean," said Petra, bitterly.

"No, no," said the bewitched Rilian. "She wants me to discover what it is you carry that prevents her from using her magic on you, and to destroy it. It's too dangerous for her to investigate this herself, you see."

"I honestly have no idea it may be," said Petra, honestly. "However, if I do happen to have something that can keep me safe from her foul magic, I'll keep it on me, thank-you very much."

He frowned. "Her magic is not foul. It's benevolent," he contradicted. "She brings people here so that they can live happily where there is never a shortage of food. If you would just give up whatever it is you have, she would happily to the same to you. Otherwise … you'll just have to starve …"

"I'd rather starve, thank-you," Petra insisted.

"Well, then," said Rilian, "I'll leave you. However, I'm pretty sure you'll soon be changing your tune, Susan's Heir." He turned, and started to leave.

A thought suddenly occurred to Petra. "Wait!" she yelled at his retreating form.

He turned. "Have you decided to comply?"

"Yes," she replied. "It's … a book."

"A book?"

"Yes, it's in my satchel, here," Petra pointed to the satchel with her chin. "You may get it out, if you'd like. Go ahead … destroy … it."

His long strides soon closed the distance between her and him, and he grabbed at the satchel.

"It's the one entitled _The Silver Chair,_" Petra continued.

He opened the satchel and soon pulled out the book she told him about. He crossed over to the fire and was about to throw it in.

"Wait!" she exclaimed again.

He paused and turned to her. "Yes? What now?"

"It's just that … I thought you might find it a shame to destroy such beautiful artwork as that which is in that book," Petra explained, quickly. "There are no pictures anywhere to equal them."

"My Lady …"

"Oh, just look at them yourself!" Petra exclaimed. "Especially the ones near the end. They're the best."

Rilian hesitated, then open the book near the end. He gave the page at first a casual glance, but then stared harder, unable to take his eyes off of it as said eyes filled with dread. "No …" he muttered. He looked up and his eyes met with Petra's. "Petra … What are we doing here?"

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 22. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! **


	23. Special Delivery

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with. _

**Chapter 23**

**Special Delivery**

"Well," said Petra, relieved that Rilian seemed to have regained his memory and control over himself. "I'm sitting here with my hands tied behind my back, waiting to starve to death, and you're trying to throw one of the books that Aslan gave my great-grandmother into the fire."

Rilian glanced down at the book he held in his hands. "Amber … she's …"

"Yeah, I know, she told me," said Petra, more frustrated at herself than anything else. "She's the Dragon. I knew I didn't trust her. I didn't want to leave you with her, but you insisted … and I was going to come right back … but right back wasn't fast enough …"

"I'm most sorry Princess Petra," said Rilian.

"It happens to all of us," said Petra with a shrug. "Could you please untie me, though?"

Rilian started, as if her words had jolted him out of his thought, then went over to her. "Yes, that would be a good thing," he said, as he untied her wrists.

Once her hands were loose, she pulled her hands around to her front, rubbing her wrists. "So," she said, "apparently these books stop Amber's magic." Then she added, "No keep that book for now, it can help protect you. Just hide it out of side."

"Yes," agreed Rilian, sliding the book into a pocket in his jacket. "Perhaps they are what we need to deliver that doom to the Dragon?"

"And what am I supposed to do with them?" Petra asked, with a desperate tone to her voice. "Throw the books at her?"

"Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," said Rilian. "However we may want to have a more well thought out …"

He was cut off by the door opening and Amber walking in. "Ril, dear," she said in a sickly-sweet, yet seductive tone, "what's taking you so long? Is she being stub …"

"Yes, I'm being very stubborn," said Petra, cutting her off.

Amber stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Petra's untied hands. "How did you …"

"I untied her," said Rilian. "She can't very well deliver your doom if her hands are tied, now can she?"

Anger flashed briefly across Amber's face, but she quickly suppressed it. "But Ril, I don't want her to deliver my doom. That would be silly."

"I was quite aware of that," said Rilian. "However …" he faltered for a second, "I did want her to deliver your doom."

"Now Ril," said Amber, "Why would you want that? Why would you want me to get hurt?"

"He is King Rilian to you, Amber," said Petra. "And he's no longer under your power. I gave him a bit of the protection that Aslan gave me."

"Ah, so you want to play that way, do you?" said Amber, her voice loosing the seduction almost immediately. "Very well, that's the way I'll play." She clapped her hands and instantly two large bears bounded into the room.

A scream escaped Petra's mouth. Dealing with a super-powerful dragon in human form was one thing. Bears were quite another. She managed to tear her eyes off of the fearsome beasts only long enough to notice a triumphant look on the maniac woman's face.

"I'll handle the bears, Petra," Rilian whispered into her ear, bringing her to her senses, "you handle Amber herself. You're the one who's prophesied to bring her to her doom." He drew his sword and positioned himself between Petra and the bears.

Petra steadied herself and stared Amber in the eye. "Is that the best you can do?" she asked. "Cruelly control talking beasts. You're the beast, Amber. And you don't even deserve the ability to talk."

"I can do worse," said Amber. "I was just letting the two of you have a fighting chance …"

"Actually, I don't need a fighting chance," said Petra, taking a step closer to Amber, then another. "All I need is to deliver this to you." She reached into the satchel and pulled out a book at random, then hurled it at Amber.

_Please Aslan. Please let this be the right choice!_

The book collided with Amber's chest, then fell unceremoniously to the floor. At fist, nothing happened. Amber looked down at the book and started laughing. "Is that the best _you_ can do?"

But then the bears stopped fighting, then looked at each other in confusion. "What are we doing here?" one of them asked.

Amber's face turned pale. "My magic!" she exclaimed. "You've destroyed my magic."

There was a sudden jolt, and the floor beneath them began to fall, taking them with it.

Amber began to laugh. "You fools! You may have defeated me – but you've killed yourselves as well! Without my magic, this castle cannot remain in the sky! You've killed yourselves!"

Seconds later, they collided with the ground, and the castle collapsed around them. Something collided with Petra's head, and everything went black.

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 23. Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	24. Just a Dream

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with. _

**Chapter 24**

**Just a Dream?**

Petra's eyes flew open as she awoke with a start. For a second she glanced about, disoriented, at her setting. She was back in her great-grandmother's room, back at the nursing home. She sat up straight and stretched her arms, trying to get the crick out of her neck that came from falling asleep while reading.

Falling asleep while reading was obviously a bad idea.

Then she frowned. "It was a dream," she muttered. "All a dream …" Sure she had wanted it to be a dream when it began … but now …

She stood up and looked at where the shelf from which great-grandmother had instructed her to remove the books had been. It wasn't there. There wasn't even a mark on the wall where it might have been. "It was all a dream. Great-grandmother wasn't Queen Susan after all …" She gave a halfhearted shrug. "Maybe I should avoid falling asleep while reading. That way I won't dream myself into the book."

She turned back around to look at her great-grandmother and let out a gasp. There, standing over the decrepit old woman, with a contemplative look on her face, was a stately young woman. She had black hair past her waist, and was dressed in a long, green dress. On her back was a quiver of arrows and a bow, and there was a horn on her belt. The only ornament about her was a golden crown.

_Queen Susan … _

Petra moved her lips to form those words, but no sound came out. She stood there, transfixed, staring at the queen.

Finally Queen Susan turned away from the bed and towards Petra. A smile curled her lips. "Well, Petra, you have succeeded."

Petra blinked, confused. "Succeeded?"

"You delivered Amber's doom. You have brought an end to Jadis's magic," said Queen Susan. "You did well."

"But …"

"It was no dream, Petra, as you should surely be able to tell by the fact that I stand here before you," said Queen Susan. "If anything, this here is the dream."

"Oh. How?" Petra was still completely confused.

"You and I are both caught between death and life here," said Queen Susan, in a thoughtful voice.

"Caught between …" said Petra. "You mean …"

"I've been caught here almost since you left after I gave you the books," said Queen Susan, guiding Petra into a chair, and sitting down beside her, "That was why I was able to talk to you through the books."

"Oh," said Petra, a chill running down her spine. "But … what am I doing here?"

"You destroyed the White Witch's magic," said Queen Susan. "And in doing so, you collapsed her castle on top of you."

"Oh …" Petra looked down for a second, then back up at Queen Susan. "What's going to happen to me?"

"Perhaps you will go with me to Aslan's country, perhaps somehow your life will be spared, and you will return to the land of the living," said Queen Susan. "It depends on Aslan's will."

"What about Rilian and the others?"

"Well, according to the books, Rilian will obviously survive," said Queen Susan. "But, other than that, I don't know."

"Oh," Petra looked down.

"And, another thing," said Queen Susan, "If you do survive, I have a request to ask you. I have long asked that the last chapter of _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe _be read at my funeral. I would like you to be the one to do so. Since you have been in Narnia, you know it better, and the magic will come through in your reading. Will you do so?"

"Well, if I survive," said Petra with a shrug. "I'll do it."

"Very well," said Queen Susan. She then stood up, and looked into the distance. "I'm ready to go."

"Go? Where?"

"To Aslan's country." She paused a second, then turned back to Petra. In her hands was the book satchel, though Petra had no clue as to how it got there. "You need no better weapon these books, Petra," she said. "I want you to guard them."

Slowly Petra nodded, as she stood up and took the satchel. "I will Grandma."

Queen Susan smiled, then gave Petra a hug. "I'll see you soon in Aslan's Country, though, hopefully, it won't be very soon for you." Then she took a step backwards and faded into a gentle ray of light.

A tear slipped out of Petra's eye. "Good-bye, Grandma."

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 24. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! **


	25. Fire

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with. _

**Chapter 25**

**Fire**

Suddenly, the world spun around and Petra found herself in total darkness. The air around her was thick, and smokey, earthy smell to it. She crinkled her nose at the smell, looking about for something – anything. Where was she? Was she now dead? This didn't seem to be Aslan's Country.

Finally, Petra thought she sighted some light off in the distance. Since she had nothing better to go by, she began walking in the direction of the perceived light. On and on she walked, seeming to make no progress – for the glimmer she thought she saw never seemed to grow any closer, causing her to believe that it was merely wishful fancy.

Petra was just about to give up on this endeavor when the darkness exploded with orange-red light. Accompanied with this light was an intense heat and the smell of smoke. Fire. Petra stiffened with fear.

When the light died down so that she could see what caused it, she screamed.

There before her was a huge red and black dragon with evil black eyes.

"Oh, there, there," said the dragon, with Amber's voice – though it was somewhat deeper. "Don't cry. Haven't you ever wanted to see a dragon before, dear?"

Hearing Amber's voice steadied Petra. "I thought I defeated you – destroyed your magic."

"Ah, but you did," said the dragon, making a rumbling in its throat that Petra took to be laughter. "You did defeat me. But, here we are, both caught between life and death. I can torment you however I wish here – even without my magic."

A thought occurred to Petra at these words. "But couldn't that mean that I could torment you as well?"

"I suppose you could, if you knew how," said Amber, in what seemed to be a thoughtful tone. "However, I could decide to put an end to all of this and go ahead and …"

The thought wasn't finished for, at that moment, the dragon opened her mouth wide, and a fire issued out, surrounding and consuming Petra.

But there was no pain to this fire, no smell, no heat … only flavor. She could taste the fire. It was not a hot flavor, not spicy … it was more bright, pure, full. She could not come up with the words to describe the fireworks of flavor that she tasted.

She opened her eyes to sunlight and the sight of Sandai's worried blue eyes. She tried to say something, but could only make a small moan. The taste of the fire was still in her mouth. She hurt, but the pain seemed to be rapidly fading.

"It is good to have you back, Princess Petra," said Sandai.

"Back?" questioned Petra, having recovered her speech, but her mind was a fog.

"Hush, you need not worry about that right now," said Sandai.

"But …"

"Right now, you need to rest. Queen Lucy's Cordial does wonders, but your injuries were severe," said Sandai in a firm voice. "You need to sleep. I have others that I must now attend to." Sandai's face disappeared from Petra's line of sight.

For several minutes Petra foggily tried to sort through what Sandai had said, and through the disjointed memories. However, at last, sleep overtook her, and she closed her eyes, drifting into more pleasant dreams that the ones that she had previously traveled through.

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 25. Yes, it's been a while. I've been working on other projects, and this one fell to the wayside. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! **


	26. Annis's News

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with. _

**Chapter 26**

**Annis's News**

When Petra finally opened her eyes once more, her mind was much clearer. She found herself back in the bedroom she had been given at Cair Paravel, dressed in a white nightgown. Completely awake and feeling no injury at all, she slid out from under the covers and walked about the room, taking care to step on the thick rugs, so that her bare feet did not come into contact with the cold stone floor.

Had all of that happened? Had she really ridden a talking horse, watched King Rilian be carried away by a conniving woman, talked to a talking mouse, climbed an iron chain with a Sunglimmer … and faced a crazed dragon lady?

Somehow it seemed all just a big, bad dream. The only thing that remained was the faint taste of the fire in her mouth. She frowned. Fire? Fire didn't taste like that. Fire was hot, burned your mouth. It didn't have a taste …

It was only a dream though. Things could taste however she wanted them to in a dream.

But, then why could she still taste it? That must have been one vivid dream!

As she pondered over this enigma, her bedroom door was suddenly flung open, and in came Annis and Raycheer.

"Petra, you're awake!" Annis exclaimed rushing forward and throwing her arms around Petra's waist. Raycheer wasn't far behind in the hug business. What ensued was one of those surreal moments that can only be properly done in a movie, where everything is in slow motion, and golden light filters through the curtains, and the only sound there is to hear is happy laughter.

That type of moment.

At last, however, the surrealness of everything came to an end and Petra found herself seated on the window seat, with Raycheer on one side of her and Annis on the other.

"You've been asleep for a very long time, Princess Petra," remarked Raycheer.

"A very, very long time," Annis agreed. "But Momma was taking care of you - so I wasn't worried."

"Was all ... of that ... actually real?" Petra at last summoned the courage to ask.

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Raycheer, clapping her hands. "Oh, yes! It was! We rescued King Rilian, Petra! And Leafglitter!"

"And Momma says that she and I are going to start living here at the castle!" Annis exclaimed. "She says that I'm getting a new daddy!" The girl frowned for a moment, then added, "I've never had a daddy before."

Petra blinked, and turned to the girl with raised eyebrow. "A new daddy? Who?"

"Why, King Rilian, of course!" exclaimed Annis, who was positively beaming. "Momma says that after she marries him, I'll be a princess too! Just like you, Petra! Won't that be fun?"

Petra's eyebrow only went up further. "King Rilian?"

Annis nodded eagerly. "Oh, Yes!" Then she frowned and shook her head in a serious manner. "But Momma says to not tell anyone!" The shaking turned into a slow nod. "They're waiting for you to wake up so that they can officially announce it."

Petra took a deep breath as she leaned back against the window pane and folded her arms over her chest to think that over. "Now that I think about, I'm really not surprised."

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 26. There's only a little bit left … and then, a new story! Please leave a review and tell me what you think! **


	27. Home

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with. _

**Chapter 27**

**Home**

Soon after Annis's revelation, a servant entered told Annis and Raycheer that, if they would like dinner. Raycheer thought it a brilliant idea, and Annis seconded the motion. Since Petra had been asleep for quite some time, she was all for it.

The next week passed in a blur for Petra. Many long hours were spent in the garden with Raycheer and Leafglitter, Raycheer's sister. Preparations for Rilian and Daisania's wedding were in full swing, and much of the time she was basically babysitter for Annis.

Daisania, she learned, had been in love with Rilian since childhood, and she had originally accepted Lord Sorian's proposal because she thought it would bring Rilian back to his senses. It hadn't worked, and when Rilian disappeared, it was she who convinced both her brother and husband to seek the prince. When they both perished, she felt so guilty, she ran away.

But now the story had a happy ending, and that was all that mattered.

It was the night before the wedding and Petra was in bed, reading _The Last Battle. _She had just come to the part where Aslan told Peter to shut the door, when the Aslan of the picture started moving.

"Child, you have done well." He said.

Petra caught her breath. She was used to Susan talking to her ... but Aslan.

"But I ... all I did was throw a book ... and I didn't even want to go ..."

"And yet you went," said Aslan. "You did what I wanted you to do, and I was therefore able to do great things through you. But your time here is finished, and you miss your home and family."

Petra swallowed. "But ..." Yes, she wanted to go home but ... "Will I be able to come back?"

"Perhaps there may come another time when Narnia needs you, but for now, it is your own world that desires your presence." At that moment, it was no longer the Aslan in the book that was speaking, but he stood before her bed, large and real and ... Aslan. There was no other word capable of describing the Great Lion of Narnia.

"Climb on my back, child," said he. "And I will carry you back to your home."

Wordlessly, Petra slid the book back her book bag, crawled across the bed, and climbed onto his strong back. Scarcely had she laced her hands securely in his mane than he launched himself upwards and flew through the window, which opened to allow his departure. Wind whistled by her ears, and she had to hide her face in his mane to keep it out of her eyes.

And then everything was quiet. A moment later, Petra realized that it was grass that her hands were entwined in and her face pressed against. Pushing herself up, she opened her eyes to find that she was at the base of the four tree.

"I'm back," she whispered, climbing to her feet. "Or ... was I gone? No ... it was real. I'm sure of it!"

Confused, she walked slowly back towards the house, gripping hard the book bag's strap. She wanted it to have happened ... she wanted Narnia to be real. But had it all been a dream?

"Petra!" No sooner was she within sight of the house than her younger sister came running out. "Petra! There you are! Mom just got a call from the nursing home. They said that not long after you left, they went to check on her and she ... Oh!" It seemed that the news was too terrible for words.

Closing her eyes, Petra nodded. "I know."

Her sister shot her a confused look. "You ... know? How? Did she ...?"

Petra shook her head. "She was still quite alive when I left. No ... I ..." she trailed off, rubbing the strap absentmindedly. "Great-grandma was a great woman," she whispered. "Greater than most will ever know." A smile spread across her face. "She's with her husband now ... and her brothers and sisters. It's been a long time for them."

**Author's Note: And here's chapter 27. There's only a little bit left … and then, a new story! Please leave a review and tell me what you think! **


	28. Epilogue

_Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis's Stepson does. All I own are the characters that Lewis didn't come up with. _

**Epilogue**

"And that is the very end of the adventure of the wardrobe," read Petra, trying hard to not let her voice break. "But if the Professor was right it was only the beginning of the adventures of Narnia."

She eased the book shut and leaned back on her heals, blinking back the stinging tears, as she allowed her thoughts to return to earth and her gaze to settle at the congregation of people who had gathered to commemorate the death of a woman who was far more than any of them knew. No one knew that for Mrs. Susan Williams, this book was memories, not a mere story.

"Thank-you Petra," said the minister, as she backed away from the podium and slid the book into the satchel. He continued the service as she slowly walked down the steps and back to where her family sat, and retook her place. More people spoke, talking of her role as mother, wife, grandmother ... they talked of the good she had done her community, the lives her gentle spirit had touched ... yet the most important part of Susan was left unspoken. No one knew that Susan Williams had once been Susan Pevensie, the gentle queen of Narnia.

At last the service was over, and they filed past the shell of Narnia's last great queen. Petra lingered only a moment, choosing not to have this picture of her great-grandmother as her final memory. No, that would be held by the dream-Susan fading into the ray of light.

The grave-side service was short and to the point, and soon Queen Susan the Gentle was lowered into the ground, and covered by the soil of earth.

**Author's Note: And thus we come to the end of Petra's story. But do not fear! The adventures of Susan's Books have only just begun. Stay tuned for the sequel, _Summer in Winter. _**


	29. The Sequel!

**Please note!**

**I have finally, and at long last, posted the first chapter of the sequel, ****_Summer in Winter, _****which is about Petra's sister. Although Petra's in there too, don't worry!**


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